Evidence in Criminal Trials

(Hardback, 2nd edition)

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Shortlisted for DSBA Law Book of the Year Award 2020 Evidence in Criminal Trials is the first Irish textbook devoted exclusively to the subject of criminal evidence. This popular title provides comprehensive, detailed coverage of law and practice on the admissibility of evidence, the presentation of evidence in court and the pre-trial gathering and disclosure of evidence. The work combines analysis of traditional evidentiary doctrine with discussion of its application in practice and takes account of policy development and reform. The subject of evidence is discussed in the broader context of fundamental rights protection under the Constitution, the ECHR and EU law. This updated and extended second edition captures the many significant changes in the law of criminal evidence in recent years. The role of vulnerable witnesses in court proceedings is explored in new chapters on children and vulnerable adults, complainants in sexual offence trials, and victims of crime. The landmark Supreme Court decision in DPP v JC is analysed in an extended chapter on unlawfully obtained evidence and important case law developments relating to confessions and the right to silence are discussed in a detailed chapter on pre-trial interviews with suspects. Other chapters explore the case law of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal on testimony, corroboration, technological evidence, privilege and disclosure. The Law Reform Commissions recommendations in its 2016 Report on Consolidation and Reform of Aspects of the Law of Evidence are considered in the books discussion of hearsay and expert evidence. This book will appeal to individuals working and studying in the areas of criminal law and evidence. It will be essential reading for legal practitioners, academics and law students and it will be of interest to others engaged with criminal justice and the court system. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Irish Criminal Law online service.

Reviews

...reflects a relentless raising of the bar in terms of scholarship in this field. Subsequent texts may well exceed Heffernan and N Raifeartaighs book in terms of length but they will find it difficult to match the freshness, ambition, lucidity and erudition of this work. -- Thomas Mohr, Associate Professor of Law, University College Dublin * Irish Jurist *

Author Bio

Liz Heffernan, LLB (Dublin), LLM (Dalhousie), LLM & JSD (Chicago), MEd (Dublin), BL, is an Associate Professor and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. She has been teaching evidence in Irish law schools since 2001 and has published nationally and internationally on the subject. She is a member of the Council of the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD) and of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Evidence and Proof. Previous publications on the subject include: Heffernan, Legal Professional Privilege (Bloomsbury Professional, 2011) Heffernan, Ryan and Imwinkelried, Evidentiary Foundations: Irish Edition (Tottel, 2008) Heffernan, Scientific Evidence: Fingerprints and DNA (First Law, 2006) Heffernan, Evidence: Cases and Materials (Thomson Round Hall, 2005)